Poison
by kai1fan2
Summary: Mariah falls in love with Tala, but she doesn't think it's meant to be. Tala thinks otherwise. rated M for later chapters
1. My Azalea

The first time I saw him was at the Russian tournament. I was with Ray at the time. I thought to myself, 'who is this guy?' I asked Ray, but he didn't know either. He went off to find Kai because this red haired guy was on Kai's team. Ray told me his name was Tala. I liked that name. It strangely fit him.

I zoned out, kind of sort of looking for the bathroom. I ran into someone, pushing myself to the ground, but I was caught before I made it that far. I was pulled forward into a warm chest, and I blushed so bad. I looked up just a little, and there holding me was Tala. I swear I blushed harder, if that were humanly possible.

I thought he was going to say "watch where you're going" and "you're such a troublesome kid," but he didn't. He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me closer into him. I was embarrassed enough and now he wants to create a scene. I knew he did when he asked me, "are you ok?"

What was it about him that made my heart beat like crazy? I liked Ray, Hell, even Kai at one point in my life, but I just met him and he probably didn't even know my name. I was totally too dazed to speak. I slowly stuttered out, "yes."

His hand left my back and I instantly wished it would've stayed. "That's good. If you'll excuse me, I have a match to win."

I saw Kai walk up behind him and he tapped Tala on the back. Tala turned to meet him face to face. "You ready?"

Tala answered, "You bet." He looked me straight in the eye. "Maybe we can hang out later." He took a pen out of his pocket and wrote his number on the back of my hand. "Call me." With that, he walked into the bright stadium, leaving me to stare at his number the rest of the day.

I came back to my hotel room at about seven that night, still with Tala completely taking over my mind. Why is he so intriguing? His number was still on my hand, even though I wrote it on a piece of paper. I grabbed my cell and called the number, heart beat sky high.

The receiver was answered, "Tala."

I barely stuttered out, "hi."

His voice rose in happiness levels. "Ah, you're that girl who bumped into me this morning. I'm glad you called. I was looking forward to this all day." He chuckled. "Usually I call the girls, but Kai told me to switch it around and make them call me. Who knew he was right?"

I laughed nervously. I wonder if he can tell I'm nervous. "That does seem kind of odd. I didn't think he knew girls very well."

"Apparently he does. I mean, I didn't think so either. So, tell me where you want to meet?"

I thought for a second. Well, Lee would kill me if I brought him here. There is a place nearby though. "Well, maybe, um… there's a club nearby, but I can't pronounce it."

Tala was silent for a minute then said, "can you spell it?"

I shook my head, mentally forgetting he couldn't see it. "I didn't learn Russian, so no."

"Hmmm…. What about streets? The streets are numbered."

"Let me look outside. I didn't look at the street signs." I took me a short minute to get outside, in the blistering cold. How do people live in this place? "Ummm… One of them looks like a B and the other looks like an N. Does that help?"

"Yes, it does. Thank you. I'll meet you there in ten minutes, my Azalea." Too shocked to respond, he hung up. Wait, did he call me a flower?


	2. A Blizzard with a Chance of Lightning

I waited outside for Tala in nothing more than my workout uniform, and I was starting to get chilly, until I saw him running towards me. "Hey, Azalea, were you waiting long?"

I lowered my eyes to the snow covered ground. "Why do you call Azalea?"

He put his hands on his hips. "Because you remind me of an Azalea flower. Have you seen how beautiful they are?"

I shook my head slightly. "I can't say I have, but I'll take your word for it."

He held out his hand, and I just stared at it until he said, "let's get going. Now that I know where we are I know what club you were talking about." I took his hand and we started walking.

I glanced up, daring myself to look at him, his beautiful pale face. It almost looked like it sparkled, but I could've been mistaken. His eyes looked like a deep violet. Fascinating. "Tala…" He glanced down at me. "I figured since we're going to be hanging out and all that you should know my name. Whether you call me that, is your choice." He didn't say anything, so I continued. "My name is Mariah."

He nodded in recognition. "You're friends with that Ray guy, right?"

"Yeah, he is also my ex-boyfriend of five times. I don't know why I keep going back to him."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look to the grey sky. "It's because your heart still longs for him. You won't be able to let him go easily."

I blushed. "I long for you."

He chuckled; his whole frame shook. "As do I, you."

I looked up again and he was smiling at me. "That sounded really poetic just now."

"I have to stop hanging around Kai. He writes poetry, so I try to pick up tips."

I was slightly surprised, but not all that shocked. "I hope the club isn't that much farther. I can't feel my toes."

He pointed up ahead at a very big, very loud club just a block away. "Can you last another block?"

I held his hand just a little tighter. "I think I can manage."

We approached the big club whose name I couldn't pronounce for the life of me. Tala said something to what looked like a guard and the guard stepped aside. "I really wish I spoke Russian."

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "don't worry about it. He just looks for drunk people coming out. I told him you don't speak Russian. He told me he understood completely. So, where to first?"

I took a quick look around. A long bar stood to the left. I haven't had a drink in a very long time. I pointed to the bar. Tala looked at me like, 'really', but didn't say anything as I pulled up to the bar.

The bartender asked Tala a question and his answer I didn't understand, but the bartender nodded and went to fix our drinks. I looked over at him. "Still wish I knew Russian. What did you get me?"

His hand went for mine and he pulled it onto the counter. "Kalashnikov. One of my favorites. I think you'll like it."

I stared at him with slightly confused eyes. "I'll once again take your word for it. I wouldn't know." I blushed hard when he lifted my hand to kiss the back, his number still there. The music was so loud I almost missed the yelling coming from behind me. We both turned to see the commotion. I saw Lee in a fight with a guy I didn't know, nor I cared about.

Tala leaned in close. "Isn't that your brother?"

Did Lee follow me or is he just here to have fun? I almost laughed when the thought of Lee having fun popped into my mind. Lee doesn't have fun. I did let a small chuckle slip. "Yeah."

Tala's eyes moved over to Lee. "Are you going to stop him?"

"What can I do? When he's like this, it's better to let him go at it. I don't want to get hurt by his lightning strike."

Tala stood up, pushing the stool under the bar table. "I'm going to stop him. If he's anything like Kai, this bar will be torn apart if we don't stop him."

I grabbed his arm, and he looked me straight in the eye. "Be careful and try not to hurt him too badly."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't make any promises." I let go and he pulled away into the fight.

I watched as Tala threw the first punch at Lee. I was kind of hoping Tala would win this fight. I felt a sudden chill run down my spine, but I didn't know from what. Was it Tala? I knew he had an ice bit beast but still. Lee threw a punch, but Tala easily ducked though he's a few inches taller than Lee. Tala whipped out his leg, effectively tripping Lee. Tala used Double Kick. It's super effective. I inwardly laughed at my pokemon reference.

Lee laid on the ground, not terribly hurt, but shaken up. Tala turned on his heel. "It's too bad you were at the bar I was at. You could've avoided this." He sat back down beside me. "I didn't hurt him too bad, did I?"

I saw a small red mark on his cheek. I rolled down my sleeves and wiped it. "Tala, you're bleeding."

He smiled. "He has shaper claws than I originally thought. It's not bad though. It'll heal." I watched as the blood dripped again. I was about to wipe it again, but Tala raised the back of his hand to wipe it. He stared at the blood on his hand, then he licked it. "Don't worry. Kai has hurt me much worse. The last time he fought me we both ended up in the hospital. We laugh about it now."

I shook my head in amazement. Average boy, I guess. He likes to fight. It made me a little sad on the inside. I grabbed my purse from the floor and pulled out a small bandaid. I unwrapped it and gently put it over the cut on his face. He watched me intently while I did this mind you. Before I lowered my hands, he grabbed my right hand and kissed the back. I blushed again, my skin turning the same shade of pink as my hair.

He smiled against my hand. "I love it when you blush. You're so cute."

I lowered my eyes, not risking becoming entranced in his. "You don't mean that."

He tilted my chin up, forcing me to make eye contact again. "Ah, but I do. Mariah, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

I guess I was entranced in his eyes again because I whispered, "yes," and leaned forward just a little and felt his lips brush against mine. He leaned forward the extra portion I didn't, and our lips met. First thing I noticed was that his lips were cold, but not uninviting. Second was that he was pulling me a little closer to him. Are we going to do something about this or no? I couldn't ask; he wasn't about to let me go now. Or at least that's what I thought the second before he did let go of my lips.

I opened my eyes and realized he was staring at me again. "Your lips taste like strawberries," he said, completely breathless.

Staring at his lips, I said, "could be the lip gloss."

He snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me against him. "I want to do more, but not here." He shivered a little when I licked the crook of his neck I happened to land on.

I moved away from him but just a little. I looked up at him. He looks different from this angle and not in a bad way. "I'll take you back to my hotel. Where you picked me up."

I took his outstretched hand and followed him to my hotel. What have I gotten myself into?


End file.
